Author: staff
The results suggest a cultural shift, as the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz no longer explicitly excludes lethal decisions without human checks. It also puts Germany in a different category than some of its allies: In the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and France, 26 percent of respondents said militaries could rely on AI rather than human decision — or roughly a quarter of people. Forty-seven percent of German respondents still favored human involvement in the use of weapons, even if they are slower than AI. But that figure was 10 percentage points lower than responses to the same question in…
Published on 13/02/2026 – 10:39 GMT+1 Péter Magyar filed a police report on Thursday concerning a video allegedly recorded without his knowledge during a sexual encounter with his ex-girlfriend, accusing the Hungarian government of orchestrating the incident to undermine his political campaign. The opposition leader claimed his former girlfriend lured him to a Budapest flat in August 2024 following a party, where their consensual encounter was secretly recorded using what he described as “secret service means”. Magyar characterised the incident as a “honey trap” operation. “In Europe, it is unprecedented that a ruling party wants to discredit, blackmail and disable…
A large number of European and international heads of state and government will this week descend on Bavaria for the Munich Security Conference (MSC), which takes place from 13 to 15 February. Around 65 heads of state and government are expected to attend, alongside some 450 representatives from global politics, academia and the defence industry. In the foreword to the newly released 2026 MSC report, conference chair Wolfgang Ischinger writes that “rarely in the conference’s recent history have there been so many fundamental questions on the table at the same time”. He points to core issues such as Europe’s security,…
By Seth Borenstein with AP Published on 13/02/2026 – 10:00 GMT+1 The Trump administration on Thursday 12 February revoked a scientific finding that climate change is a danger to public health, an idea that President Donald Trump called “a scam”. But repeated scientific studies say it’s a documented and quantifiable harm. Again and again, research has found increasing disease and deaths – thousands every year – in a warming world. The Environmental Protection Agency finding in 2009, under the Obama administration, has been the legal underpinning of nearly all regulations fighting global warming. “It boggles the mind that the administration is rescinding the…
Kazakhstan and China have successfully launched the joint Di’er-5 nanosatellite (Yao-8 mission) for scientific research from China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre aboard a Kuaizhou-11 rocket. The Di’er-5 nanosatellite was developed at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in partnership with China’s Northwestern Polytechnical University. “This nanosatellite is designed to test high-precision motion, attitude control, and elements of autonomous processing for Earth observation data,” says Lazzat Abdizhalilova, a student of Electronics and Astrophysics and participant in the satellite development programme. According to Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, instead of relying solely on ground stations, the nanosatellite can recognise and analyse remote sensing imagery directly…
35. Craig Saunders and Louise Berwick A top civil service power couple. Louise Berwick manages communications on foreign affairs and defense in Downing Street. Her husband, Craig Saunders, is midway through moving from a top Home Office comms job to be head of news and media at the Treasury. 36. Luke Tryl and Dharmesh Nayee Luke Tryl has become one of Westminster’s most recognized commentators. His More in Common think tank — which pumps out polls and conducts regular focus groups — offers SW1 colorful insight into what the “normal people” actually care about. His partner is Dharmesh Nayee, a senior…
The evening opens with debutantes dancing Carl Michael Ziehrer’s Fächer-Polonaise, followed by the State Opera Ballet in costumes by Giorgio Armani and a short opera set. Music ranges from Leonard Bernstein to Giuseppe Verdi.The ball is held under the patronage of Alexander Van der Bellen and draws a mix of politics, business and culture. Among the international guests is Sharon Stone. Tickets sold out weeks ago, with part of the proceeds going to local charities. Broadcast live, the event remains the high point of Austria’s ball season, paused only for war in 1991 and the Covid years.
By Euronews with AP Published on 13/02/2026 – 8:54 GMT+1 Kathy Ruemmler, the top lawyer at investment bank Goldman Sachs and a former White House counsel to President Barack Obama, announced her resignation on Thursday. This came after a series of emails were released by the US Department of Justice, revealing her close relationship to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Ruemmler described Epstein as an “older brother” and an uncle, while also downplaying his sex crimes. Ruemmler said in a statement that she would step down as chief legal officer and general counsel of Goldman Sachs on 30 June…
Die MSC geht jetzt in die Vollen. US-Außenminister Marco Rubio führt die amerikanische Delegation an. Er hat einen anderen Ton als Vizepräsident JD Vance, aber klar auf Trump-Linie ist er. Rixa Fürsen spricht mit POLITICO-Kollege Jonathan Martin darüber, welchen Kurs er verfolgt, wie realistisch ein Friedensplan für die Ukraine bis zum Sommer ist und welches Verhältnis Rubio zu Wolodymyr Selenskyj hat. Im 200-Sekunden-Interview erklärt die Grünen-Fraktionsvize Agnieszka Brugger, warum sie einen beschleunigten EU-Beitritt der Ukraine unterstützt, welche Reformen dort notwendig bleiben und wie Europa auf Spannungen mit den USA reagieren sollte. Danach geht es nach Israel. Bundestagspräsidentin Julia Klöckner hat…
Published on 13/02/2026 – 7:45 GMT+1•Updated 8:01 On today’s show: We break down the conclusions of yesterday’s informal EU summit. Interviews with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and EU Commissioners Hadja Lahbib and Glenn Micallef. Our EU Editor Maria Tadeo joins us live from Germany on what’s at stake at this year’s Munich Security Conference. From the ground in Kyiv, Shona Murray tells us about the European Commission’s efforts to help Ukraine survive winter, after Russian strikes have severely damaged its electricity and heating infrastructure. Our Jakub Janas takes a look at birth rates in Europe ahead of Saint Valentine’s…